A Demon and his Princess
by CourTrain
Summary: As Rin copes with his growing feelings of affection for Shiemi, he discovers much about himself in the process, as his and Shiemi's future become intertwined by the red string of fate. Rin x Shiemi (Riemi)


**Author's Note: Hello everyone! This'll be my first attempt at an Ao No Exorcist fic, and I'll be writing for my absolute favourite pairing, Rin x Shiemi. If you enjoy the first chapter, leave a fav and a follow, and tell me what you liked or disliked about it. It you have any questions, shoot me a PM, and maybe check out some of my other fics if you have time. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: The Girl With the Pink Umbrella**

Rin's tail absentmindedly thumped against the bed as he stared out the window of his dorm, watching the rain pound against the glass frame. Rin hated the rain, the feeling of being assaulted by a barrage of cold water didn't sit right with him, and he usually took to staying indoors on days like these. The fact that it was on a Sunday made him even more displeased, as he had planned to spend the afternoon exploring the forest that was not too far off of campus.

Even though Rin was only a half-demon, and most teenage boys didn't take to exploring the wilderness in their free time, he always felt a strange calling when it came to nature. He chalked it up to his instincts as a demon, always wanting to be running about outside in grassy meadows and to smell the sweet scent of the flowers, far away from civilization. He never invited any of his friends along for these explorations, not even his brother Yukio, as he felt that they killed the mood. It was times like these where Rin felt even lonelier and unlike his human companions, being the only person with such animalistic desires.

The way some of his friends treated him when he expressed these needs of his made him angry, and questioned why he associated with such people. The only people he knew that truly accepted him for who he was were Shiemi and Izumo, not even his own brother Yukio saw him as someone to be trusted. Although he enjoyed both Shiemi and Izumo's company, he wished he could be more widely accepted amongst his circle of classmates.

"What's the matter, Rin?" his familiar Kuro asked, slinking up onto the bed and rubbing against his leg.

"Oh, hey Kuro. It's nothing really, I was just hoping to go out to the forest today, but the weather seems to have other plans." Rin replied, petting Kuro's head.

"I'm sorry, Rin, maybe we can go another day." Kuro said.

"Yeah, you're right. Wanna go see what Shiemi or Izumo is up to?" Rin asked, as Kuro nodded excitedly and jumped onto his shoulder.

Rin smiled and got up off the bed as he slung his sword onto his back and exited his dorm and descended the stairs. Since Izumo's room was closer than Shiemi's shop/house, he set off for the girl's dormitory first, humming a tune to himself as his tail swayed side to side. At first, Rin had hated having a tail, it seemed like a bothersome task to have to hide an extra appendage, but he was slowly growing to appreciate it. It was like having a third arm, but that's not the reason he adored it so much: he loved it because it made him different, made him stand out amongst the crowd.

To be fair, Rin did wish he was completely human at times, but Rin was not someone that strived to go with the flow of the wind and follow the crowd. Even though it wasn't always the most useful of talents, Rin also appreciated his ability to communicate with demons. While some demons were outright rude or nasty, he found that others could actually be quite kind and respectful. This made his visits to the forest even more enjoyable, because he had made friends with the local sprites and harmless demons of the forest, and they treated him like a master, being the son of Satan and all that.

His ability to control his flames wasn't used as often as he would like, but it did come in handy now and then. Most humans froze in fear at the sight of blue flames, but to Rin, there was more to the flickering blue aura than people gave it credit for. When he was bored, he'd often just ogle at his own blue fire, cackling in the palm of his hand. Where most people saw something to turn and run away from as fast as possible, Rin saw an endearing piece of his blood father that he had inherited. Sure, Rin hated his father for murdering his adopted father Shiro, but he couldn't help but feel there was something about Satan that was misunderstood.

Sure, he was the ruler over Hell and what seemed to be a maniacal tyrant that wanted nothing more than to destroy all of Assiah, but Rin felt strangely content when he thought of him. Even though he told no one, not even Kuro of this, Rin had the occasional dream that seemed to be him walking hand in hand with his father and mother. His father took the form of what looked like an older version of himself, the same unkempt black hair and vibrant blue eyes that looked at him with a warm and caring expression. Although Rin wasn't sure if it was just him imagining Satan as a kinder person, he had hope in his heart that his father did love him and Yukio somewhere in his black heart.

So caught up in his own thoughts, Rin didn't even notice that when he turned a corner, he bumped directly into Izumo, sending the two crashing to the ground.

"Watch where you're go- oh, hello Rin." she said, lowering her voice from the shout not even a moment ago.

"Hey Izumo, sorry about that." Rin said apologetically, getting to his feet first and offering her his hand.

"Thanks," she said, taking it and getting to her feet and dusting off her skirt, "where were you headed?" she asked.

"To see you, actually." Rin said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"To see me? What for?" she asked.

"Well, I planned on going to the forest today but the weather won't allow it, so I thought I'd come see what you were up to." he said.

"Oh… well, I didn't have much planned today either. I was actually just taking a study break just now, I've been trying to cram for the Exwire exam." she said nervously.

"Ah, I see. Well, I won't bother Little Miss Scholar then." he teased, spinning on his heel and walking back down the hall.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Izumo shouted behind him.

"Shiemi's!" he called back, turning the corner and disappearing from sight.

"Of course you are." she muttered to herself as she turned around and headed back to her dorm room.

What people often forgot about Rin was that, like his demon brethren, he had enhanced hearing, made evident by his naturally pointy ears. He, of course, heard what she had just muttered to herself, even if he was pretty far away. Rin didn't pretend to be an expert on girls, or people in general, but he always found the way that Izumo acted in and out of the classroom odd. Around their peers, she acted condescending and sometimes even rude or distant, but every time Rin met her in the hallway or off campus, she was a much more delightful girl to be around. He wondered why there was such a contrast in her demeanour when there was different company present, but Rin wasn't usually one to pry. He figured that Izumo was just a complicated girl, and it was fruitless to try and decipher how her mind worked.

"Can we go and play with Shiemi now, Rin?" Kuro asked excitedly.

"I guess we have to, Kuro." Rin replied, setting off in the direction of Shiemi's home.

Shiemi Moriyama, the only other person besides Izumo who accepted him completely, was one of his favourite people in the whole world, and he said that with no hesitation. Ever since he met her in her garden that one day on his mission with Yukio, the girl had worked her way so deeply into his life that he couldn't shake her if he wanted to. Not that he wanted to, oh hell no. The girl practically radiated happiness, which some people called naïveté, but to Rin it was the purest form of optimism and one of her most endearing traits.

In the beginning, he discouraged himself from getting too close to her, as he felt that a demon such as himself didn't need to go getting too attached to a human. However, that false sense of reasoning soon crumbled underneath him, and he fell hopelessly in love with the young woman. Rin wasn't sure what it was about her, but he felt an extremely strong urge to be around her at all times of the day. Maybe that was just his instincts too, making him feel protective over a potential mate, but he didn't try and fight them. Often, even if it was a little odd and maybe even creepy to some people, he would sit on the roof of her house at night to make sure that no intruders tried to break in and harm her. It was silly, they were protected by the academy in more ways than one, but he still felt as if he needed to keep a lookout for her, as if she wasn't in one of the safest places possible.

His half brother and Headmaster, Mephisto, teased him relentlessly to no end about his feelings for Shiemi.

_"What is it between you and dear Shiemi, brother?" he would always ask._

_"Nothing, we're just friends." he would reply._

_"Do friends keep night time watch over them while they sleep? Come on now, Rin, you and I both know you're an awful liar." he said._

_"How did you… never mind. I guess it's fruitless trying to lie to you." Rin said exasperatedly._

_"That's the spirit, little brother. Don't be ashamed of your feelings for dear Shiemi, Rin, it's in our nature to want to protect what's ours with our lives. I think you forget I'm a demon too, sometimes." he said with his smug smile._

_"It's not like she belongs to me or anything, I'm just looking out for her. It would help me sleep easier at night knowing that she's alright." he said with his arms crossed._

_"Has she expressed a similar interest in you, brother? Humans are more than often more attracted to us than vice versa." Mephisto said._

_"What? I doubt Shiemi feels the same, she only sees me as a friend." Rin said solemnly._

_"You'll never know until you ask her, Rin, but something tells me you aren't that direct with your feelings. My advice would be to give her the space she needs, let her decide for herself if she returns your_ _feelings of affection. Until then, continue about your everyday life." Mephisto said, and with a wave of his hand, he disappeared in a cloud of cartoon-y pink smoke._

Rin finally reached the courtyard where he would have to begin walking in the rain to get to Shiemi's home, and he wasn't looking forward to it in the least.

"If you want, you can hide inside my jacket, Kuro." Rin said, unzipping his jacket and offering Kuro a place inside, free of the cold rain. Kuro happily agreed, crawling inside of his jacket and snuggling up against his chest, his head poking out from the opening at the top by his zipper.

Throwing his hood over his head, Rin began his trek to Shiemi's house, the wet rain bouncing off of his jacket but still leaving a chilly and wet sensation behind. The academy grounds were completely deserted, due to the weather, and Rin walked in solitude along with his familiar to her home. As he was walking, Rin absentmindedly snapped his fingers, turning his flames on and off as he trudged down the path. He noticed that even though the rain was clearly falling on them, his flames were not extinguished by the barrage of cold water, which gave him a brilliant idea. Willing his fire to appear above his head and over his whole body, he maintained a sort of blue flame umbrella over his head, which worked like a charm. Rin grinned to himself as he removed his hood and tail from his pants and continued to walk to his friend's house, now free from the troubles of the rain.

Reaching the final path that led to his friend's home, he noticed a girl holding a pink umbrella descending the stairs that led to the same street he was walking on, not even fifty feet away. Upon closer inspection, it was Shiemi, her own familiar resting on her shoulder as she walked the other direction that Rin was facing.

"Shiemi!" he called out to her, and she spun around and waved to him, rushing over to greet him.

"Hello Rin! What are you doing out here in the rain?" she questioned, approaching him.

"I was coming to see what you were up to, actually." he said, ruffling his hair.

"I was just taking a walk, you're free to come if you like. I see you have your own umbrella already." she said, pointing to the flaming outline of an umbrella above him.

"Shiemi!" Kuro shouted in Rin's head, exploding out of his jacket and landing on her shoulder.

"Oh, hello Kuro!" she said, petting his head as Kuro purred and rubbed against her cheek. _At least she has Kuro's seal of approval, _Rin thought to himself.

"Say, Shiemi, I actually was going to ask you something, now that I think about it..." Rin said, his voice trailing off.

"What's that, Rin?" Shiemi asked.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to come to the forest with me, today... you know, just explore and... all that." he said nervously, shuffling his feet.

"I would love to, Rin! But isn't the weather a little bad for that today?" she asked, and as if on cue, the sun began to work it's way through the gray clouds, and the rainfall ceased within moments of her saying that.

"Not anymore." he said with a chuckle, and Shiemi beamed back at him. Looking at his familiar on Shiemi's shoulder, he said,

"Kuro, can you give us all a ride to the forest?"

Kuro was more than happy to do so, transforming into his larger form as he lowered himself to the ground, allowing Rin to help Shiemi onto his back first and then get on himself.

"Hold on tight, Shiemi." he said, as she wrapped her hands around his waist and clutched him tightly. Kuro sprang off the ground, darting from rooftop to rooftop as he set off to the outskirts of the academy, and within five minutes, they had reached the small but dense forest that Rin loved so much. Setting the two down at the entrance, he returned to his normal size and hopped back onto Shiemi's shoulder that wasn't occupied by her own familiar. As they began walking through the wilderness, the tiny sprites and minor demons approached Rin and Shiemi from behind their trees, bowing in respect before speaking to him.

"Hello Rin-sama!" they all chimed in his head, as they both waved back at them and Kuro hopped off Shiemi's shoulder to play with the friendly Greenmen.

"Is this your new bride?" one of the sprites squeaked, and Rin blushed and waved off it's statement.

"No, she's just a friend. Everyone, this is Shiemi, treat her as you treat me." Rin said, as they all bowed to Shiemi in respect.

"Wow, the creatures of the forest really look up to you, Rin." Shiemi said in awe as one of the fairies placed a flower crown on her head as she giggled in delight.

"Well, I guess being the son of Satan does come with it's perks, although it seems like a burden most of the time." he said to her.

"Nonsense, I like you just the way you are. If you were only human, you'd be a different Rin then you are now, and I don't want you to change, not even a bit." she said with her heart-melting smile.

"Wow, thanks Shiemi... you sure know how to make me feel better about myself." he said, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Say though, Rin, why haven't you invited me out here before?" she asked, sounding a little sad.

"I mean... usually I come out here on my own because it lets me be alone with, you know, _my own kind. _Plus, most people would just kill the vibe that I get being outdoors, in my element." he said, looking down at Kuro chasing the Greenmen about.

"You're only a _half_-demon, Rin, and what's different about me than everyone else?" she asked. _She always puts me in these situations where I don't know what to say, I swear. _Rin thought to himself.

"You're... gentle, is the best way I can put it. I don't get uneasy around you." he said, picking a flower from the ground and twirling it in his hand.

"Oh..." she said, her voice trailing off as she too looked down at the ground.

_Now I've done it, I'm such an idiot. I probably made her uncomfortable just now. Good job, Rin. _he thought.

"Sorry, it was probably a mistake bringing you here, Shiemi. We can go back whenever you're read-" he said, stopping at the end of his sentence as he was interrupted by Shiemi, who started to sob quietly.

"Sh- Shiemi! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry..." he said, his tail drooping in sadness. _Great, now I REALLY feel like an asshole. _he thought.

"N- No Rin, it's not your f-fault. I'm not c-crying because I'm sad, I'm c-crying because I'm happy." she said, tears still streaming down her face, which upon further inspection, still wore her bright smile.

"W-Wait, what?" he said, now completely confused.

"Nobody has ever been so nice to me before, calling me gentle... usually when people look at me, they see a girl that's afraid, clumsy or dumb. The fact that my best friend sees me in such a nice light, it just makes me really happy!" she said, tears streaming down her ridiculously happy face.

"Shiemi..." he said, clenching his fists in anger as he rushed her, pulling her into a tight embrace as she stopped crying abruptly.

"R-Rin?" she asked in surprise.

"Don't say such horrible things about yourself. So what if you're clumsy, or scared, or anything else that people say about you? I'm an idiot, I'm reckless and naive and even more clumsy than you! You're the kindest person I've ever met in my whole life, don't you dare badmouth yourself ever again, got it?" he scolded, still holding her tiny frame in his strong arms.

"Rin... you're such a nice man. I'm sorry you've had such a hard life, you deserve so much better." she said, snuggling into his shoulder and resting her head.

"Let's just stop apologising and enjoy ourselves, alright? It's Sunday after all." he said, releasing her and looking her in the eyes, as she nodded in agreement as he helped her to her feet. Picking her a daisy from the earth and handing it to her, she smelled it and smiled at him as they continued their trek through the forest.

**Later that week... **

"Rin. Rin. RIN!" Yukio shouted, slamming his books on the table as Rin woke with a jolt and hastily got to his feet.

"DON'T EAT THAT SHIEMI, IT'S POISINOUS!" he shouted at nobody on particular, as he slowly spun around to reveal that he was not in the forest but in fact, in the classroom.

"Will you sit down already, dumbass?" Ryuji said, rolling his eyes.

"Rin... please don't embarrass yourself." Shiemi said from next to him, her hands over her face to cover her red cheeks.

"Oh, shit... sorry." Rin said, plopping back down into his seat as Yukio massaged his temples with an irritated look on his face.

"Please put your tail away and stay awake this time, Rin." Yukio said, eyeing his demonic appendage.

"Mephisto said I shouldn't be ashamed of my tail." Rin protested, and Yukio was about to retort but figured it was pointless arguing with his twin brother and just sighed as he returned to writing on the chalkboard.

"Did the Headmaster actually say that?" Shiemi whispered, and Rin shook his head.

"Nah, but you have no idea how annoying it is to hide your tail all day long." he whispered back, tickling her nose with the tuft of fur at the end of his tail as she giggled profusely.

Izumo made a disgusted face and let out a gagging noise, getting her friend Paku's attention.

"What's the matter, Izumo?" she asked her friend.

"Huh? Oh, nothing." she replied, resting her head against her arm with a scowl etched into her face.

Looking at the pair giggling in the front and then back at her friend, she let out an,

"Ooooooooh, I see."

"What?" Izumo asked.

"You're jealous of Rin having fun with Shiemi, huh?" Paku asked with a sly smile on her face.

"I am _not!" _she retorted.

"_Sure _you aren't. There's nothing to be ashamed of, Izumo, he's a handsome guy." Paku said.

"Who said I thought he was handsome? He's not _that _good looking... I mean, okay, maybe he is, but I still don't like him!" she shot back, as Paku laughed at her friend's reaction.

"Whatever you say, Izumo." Paku said, looking back at the board as Izumo pouted to herself.

"So far today's activity, we'll be working on a different side of exorcists that isn't utilised as often as it should be: compassion. As is evident with my brother's familiar, using your head and trying to be empathetic with demons can often diffuse an otherwise sticky situation. Force and even exorcising are not the only methods of dealing with demons, and many exorcists often forget that demons have feelings, just like us humans. Each of you will partner up with a classmate and take one of these demons, whose identity won't be revealed until you've chosen, and work on taming or calming it down." Yukio explained, placing about ten cages with sheets over them on his desk and gesturing for the class to pair up and take them.

As the rest of the class found partners, Rin and Shiemi had already stepped up to his desk to choose their demon. Letting Shiemi do the honours, she picked a cage at random and carried it back to their desk. Once everyone had collected their demons, Yukio instructed them to remove the sheets. Pulling off the white cloth, Rin and Shiemi observed their demon, which was surprisingly a Greenman that they both knew quite well, but it looked like it was enraged. It snarled and nipped at their fingers as they both poked the tiny creature.

"I didn't know Greenmen could even get like this." Rin said. Looking around at his classmates, he felt like he had gotten the better end of the stick, as some of his friends got much nastier or meaner demons then they had.

"You have twenty minutes to figure out what the problem is with your demon and diffuse the situation. Begin now." Yukio said, pulling out a stopwatch as the class hurriedly got to work.

Observing their Greenman, Shiemi and Rin didn't find anything too out of the ordinary.

"Maybe it's just having a bad day?" Rin asked hopefully, but Shiemi shook her head.

"I've never heard of a Greenman being in a bad mood without good reason. Maybe it's injured?" Shiemi said, but Rin turned it upside and down and couldn't find a single injury.

"This is harder than I thought it would be." Rin said with a sigh.

"Can't you just ask it what's wrong, Rin?" Shiemi asked, and Rin shook his head in response.

"Some demons can talk, and Greenmen are one of the ones that don't." he replied, about to idly poke the Greenman again before Shiemi grabbed his arm.

"Wait, Rin, let it be for just a minute, I want to test something." she said, and Rin followed her order and left the Greenman alone, which eventually receded into the corner and began to act gloomy.

"It's lonely, that's it!" Shiemi proclaimed, and Rin had to admit it looked like she was right. It reminded Rin of a scaled down version of himself, acting all lonely and feeling left out.

Summoning her own familiar, Nii-chan, she opened the cage momentarily and placed him inside. The other Greenman acted shocked for a moment, but when Nii-chan began to play with it, it instantly began to run about and have a blast inside the tiny cage.

"It worked!" Rin exclaimed, "You're a genius, Shiemi."

"Nice job, Moriyama and Rin, you're the first pair to complete the task." Yukio said, writing something down on a clipboard and smiling at them.

Beaming at eachother, Rin and Shiemi decided to use their free time assisting their classmates with their own demons, which Rin found great success in. The more Rin worked with demons, the more that he grew fond of the creatures, and he wondered why some exorcists harboured such nasty grudges against all of them, not just the mean ones.

"Jeez, Rin, you're supposed to let everybody else solve their demon problems on their own." Shiemi nagged, but Rin waved her concern off.

"Nobody is doing it right, they're treating their demons like animals." Rin said, petting the head of a tiny demon-bat, which purred at his touch.

"Sorry I'm not a demon whisperer like you, Okumura, we aren't all born with such a natural gift. I've no sympathy for demons." Ryuji said with a scoff, earning an angry look from Rin.

"Have a heart, Rooster Head, seriously. And people wonder why demons hate them." Rin said, playing with his tamed Greenman.

"I wouldn't even blink if every demon disappeared off the face of the planet tomorrow, and I doubt anyone else would!" Ryuji shouted at Rin.

"Some demons are a lot more human than you!" Rin shot back.

"Ryuji, stop it. Rin, you can't expect all exorcists to think like you do, especially those that have lost family to demons." Izumo interrupted, getting between the two.

"He started it!" they both shouted in unison.

"I don't care who started it, either stop it or take it outside." Izumo said, returning to her seat as Rin and Ryuji shot each other an angry glare as they too returned to their respective seats, Shiemi taking Rin's arm and leading him away. Taking a seat with his friend, he couldn't help but pick up a distinctly nasty "Freak should've stayed in Hell with his bastard father." from Ryuji's direction, as he grit his teeth and dragged his now sharpened claws on the desk.

"Rin, hey." Shiemi said, turning his head to face her and keeping her hand on his cheek, "Don't listen to him. It's not worth it."

Her soft touch caressing his cheek eased his nerves, and he felt his claws receding and his blood no longer boiling.

"There's nothing wrong with the way you are, don't let anybody tell you different." she cooed into his ear, easing his temper and replacing it with a warm and tingly feeling.

"You're right. Thanks, Shiemi, really." he replied, and she smiled back at him.

"Anytime." she whispered, putting her hand on his as his shoulders relaxed and he sank back into his seat.

"Well, now that it seems everyone is done, class is over for the day. You're all free for the day." Yukio stated, as everyone eagerly gathered their belongings and piled out the door. Shiemi and Rin being the last ones out, they headed for the door as Yukio called out,

"Hey, Rin?"

Telling Shiemi to go on ahead, Rin walked back towards his brother's desk and said,

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you that you did a great job today, I'm surprised you're getting that good at making friends with demons." Yukio said.

"Thanks, I guess it just comes more naturally the more time I spend around them." Rin replied.

"Right. So, have you heard about the festival coming up this weekend?" Yukio asked.

"No, I haven't. Sounds like fun, though, I'll probably ask Shiemi if she'd like to go with me." Rin said nonchalantly.

"You and Shiemi have been spending quite a lot of time together lately, eh?" Yukio teased, and Rin went a little red and looked down at his feet.

"Yeah, what about it?" he replied.

"Oh, nothing. So when's the wedding date?" Yukio asked mischievously.

"D- Don't get ahead of yourself!" Rin shouted, and Yukio laughed heartily and just waved him out the door, signaling for him to leave.

Catching up to Shiemi in the hall, she asked,

"What was that all about?"

"Oh, just... you know what, forget about it." Rin replied.

_It's a little early to be getting married, even if it does sound pretty nice._


End file.
